Cauliflower Ear Drainage

Hey i don't know if i hav a minor cauliflower ear infection. It's on the ear lobe and not the part near the boney area. It feels like a small ball of hard substance. Anyone know what this is??? thanks.

If it's any bit red, swollen, and/or pain when you squeeze it, it might be an infection. OR cellulitis. If could be a hundred different things, which just goes to show you that you should seek professional expertise. If an infection is given enough time and not properly taken care of you could end up losing an ear and even die if it spreads to more vital organs! Yes, that's extreme, but it just goes to show, if you have any doubts or question about anything health-wise, please see a physician, not a forum.

And for the fellas who drained their ears and it filled right back up the next day, you need the suture method to fix your ears. I thoroughly recommend the suture method for anyone with persistent cauli and advise to wear headgear after that. It is the wisest move if you care about your appearance or the health of your ears.
 
At the Mundials, I have never seen so many blue belts with cauli in my life. It's like an epidemic.

I hate cauli ... and I hate headgear ... and I hate n3wbs who think headlocks are an effective way of grappling, because it screws with your ears.
 
At the Mundials, I have never seen so many blue belts with cauli in my life. It's like an epidemic.

I hate cauli ... and I hate headgear ... and I hate n3wbs who think headlocks are an effective way of grappling, because it screws with your ears.

i felt right at home with mine there was so much. i agree about the headlock complaint. i've had my ears tore up by guys trying to defend against a half guard pass with some kind of headlockish restraint, it didn't prevent the pass just caused my ear to blow up. my biggest complaint about my right ear is the way it's screwed up makes wearing earbuds for my ipod painful if i wear them too long.
 
We've got some Judo guys, that play ruff. All other Bjj beginners and advance guys are more technical then those judo backgrounded guys...
 
i felt right at home with mine there was so much. i agree about the headlock complaint. i've had my ears tore up by guys trying to defend against a half guard pass with some kind of headlockish restraint, it didn't prevent the pass just caused my ear to blow up. my biggest complaint about my right ear is the way it's screwed up makes wearing earbuds for my ipod painful if i wear them too long.

I can finally wear earbuds in my right ear again, because it's smaller than before yet still bigger than normal. They actually fit better.
 
yeah i went off advice on the internet and bought some insulin needles and couldn't get anything out... doc says it wouldn't have had a thick enough needle

I did the same thing. My doc said the needles were too thin and that I should get 18gauge needles. She treats athletes and said just drain it myself and keep it clean and sterile when I do.
 
I drained my ear for the first time on friday (2 ml) I didnt train on saturday but by say night it was the same way as before i drained it
so my question is should i drain it every day?

My Doc told me to drain and ice every day until the swelling stops. But careful with frost bite because the ear is pretty delicate. The point of draining is because the skin separates from the cartilage and the blood vessels in the skin are the only supply of blood keeping the cartilage alive. So you drain and compress to get the skin and hence blood cells etc go back to supplying the cartilage.
 
I have some minor swelling on one ear if i squeeze it i can feel it is fluid and it moves, is it worth getting it drained or will it just come back without surgery, it is not bad enough to go and get surgery on.

My ears are getting pretty jacked up. I like to refer to it as "the brazilian ear muffs."

I just spoke to my ear/ nose/ throat specialist and he told me that you can drain it, but when the connective tissue seperates, you require gettting a couple of stitches to hold the tissue back in place or else it will come back next time you start rolling and take some punishment.

This is the life/ hobby we choose... I take the good with the bad.
 
OK so i have my first case of "FUBAR ear" and i really dont want to stop training because i have a fight next month.
The Doc is free cause im in the military but i dont want them to cut it or something and put me out of training.

I've never drained it b4 Should i just keep draining it, or what?
 
I've never drained it b4 Should i just keep draining it, or what?

drain, compress, ice (careful cause of frost bite), repeat until it doesn't swell up.

The first time my needle hit the fluid area, it was obvious. Then just sucked it right out. Couple days and it was back to normal. mostly.
 
Aiight i know sound a fool but how exactly is the best way to go about compressing this??

Thanx for the help BTW
 
Its weird i have submission wrestled for a years now. And i dont have cauliflower ear. And people have done headlocks and etc. to my head why dont i get one? Or is it just that some people ears dont get it so easy? I have wrestled with bjj, judo and wresling guys so i dont think its the style of the opponents i have trained whit.
 
some people are more susceptible to it, depends how flexy your ear cartilage is...

schermstorm:
pack your ear with cotton wool and then tape up your head nice and tight
 
OK thanx for the help guys. Just a little update in case anyones interested lol..

Aiight i tried just icing it and wrapping it hoping that i wouldnt need to drain it NO dice. I went to the hospital and talked with a ENTN (ear nose throat) and he wanted to cut it drain/scrape the clot and all the blood out. I asked if he would just needle it and he didnt want to do that so i optioned for.....nothing.
Went home thought about it aaaand was like WTF well i cant leave it this bad so might as well have DOC cut it. I went there and kept asking him if he'd at least give the needle a try first then cut if necassary and BAM it worked great. It all went down and he put some gauze in there and taped it so the skin was tight against the ear.
Anyways i slept on it that way and then in the morning took the bandage off and it was good to go......UNTIL i wreslted the next night BAM it was back!! Maybe even a lil worse....long story SHORT...if you're a fighter might as well get used to cauli ear get a needle set (keep it sanitary) and keep draining it yourself. Keep a close eye on it though because first sign of redness or like infection you need some meds!!

OK this is ALL IMHO ok...MY opinion which honestly doesnt amount to a whole lot of shit cause i've seen to learned most things the hard way in life but just thought id share. Enjoy!
 
dude, if you got it drained and went straight back to rolling and are suprised that it blew up again it's your own fault.... The skin has separated from the cartilage, u got the blood drained out, the skin is just resting against the cartilage at least give it a few days so it can try and re-attach before screwing it up again
 
OK thanx for the help guys. Just a little update in case anyones interested lol..

Aiight i tried just icing it and wrapping it hoping that i wouldnt need to drain it NO dice. I went to the hospital and talked with a ENTN (ear nose throat) and he wanted to cut it drain/scrape the clot and all the blood out. I asked if he would just needle it and he didnt want to do that so i optioned for.....nothing.
Went home thought about it aaaand was like WTF well i cant leave it this bad so might as well have DOC cut it. I went there and kept asking him if he'd at least give the needle a try first then cut if necassary and BAM it worked great. It all went down and he put some gauze in there and taped it so the skin was tight against the ear.
Anyways i slept on it that way and then in the morning took the bandage off and it was good to go......UNTIL i wreslted the next night BAM it was back!! Maybe even a lil worse....long story SHORT...if you're a fighter might as well get used to cauli ear get a needle set (keep it sanitary) and keep draining it yourself. Keep a close eye on it though because first sign of redness or like infection you need some meds!!

OK this is ALL IMHO ok...MY opinion which honestly doesnt amount to a whole lot of shit cause i've seen to learned most things the hard way in life but just thought id share. Enjoy!

Ha. Did you at least wear head gear when you went back to training the very next night?
 
yo anyone know whats a good eargear i can get or good online deals on them? i dont want to get cauliflower ive always been meaning to ask
 
First, insulin needles are way too thin to suck out the fluids. You probably need a 24 guage 1 inch needle. Do not reuse needles due to risk of infection. Ice the ear to numb the pain for the injection, and then disinfect the area with alcohol. When injecting, make sure you go to the infected area, dont stick the needle barley in and expect to get all the fluid and blood out. Slowly pull the plunger outwards till you feel that all the fluid is out. Afterwards ice and disenfect. Then wrap and tape your ears with guals. Make sure to rewrap them everyday for 4 days. You wann make sure that the skin is healing to the cartlidge. Stay of the mat for about 5 days to avoid further irritation and infection, and wear headgear when rolling. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat. If you start to get discoloration go to the doc and get anti-biotics.
 
does anyone have any pictures of their ears wrapped? I know one of the guys on TUF had it wrapped on the last episode, but you never got a good view (referencing TUF makes me feel like a TUF noob)

I haven't gotten cauli yet, but it is good for future reference.
 
What they do is put some gauze behind your ear, and then push your ear in tight to your head, cover with guaze, then wrap ACE wrap or whatever you want to call it around your entire head.

Basically you look like you got shot in the head.
 
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